D. C. Gomez - Humorous Urban Fantasy

D. C. Gomez is an award-winning USA Today Bestselling Author, podcaster, motivational speaker, and coach. Born in the Dominican Republic, she grew up in Salem, Massachusetts. D. C. studied film and television at New York University. After college she joined the US Army, and proudly served for four years. 
D. C. has a Master’s Degree in Science Administration from the Central Michigan University, as well as a Master in Adult Education from Texas A&M- Texarkana University.  She is a certified John Maxwell Team speaker and coach, and a certified meditation instructor from the Chopra Center. One of D. C. passions is helping those around her overcome their self-limiting beliefs.  She writes both non-fiction as well fiction books, ranging from Urban Fantasy to Children’s Books. As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about her book, Death's Intern.

Please give us a brief introduction to what Death's Intern is about.

Death’s Intern is the story of Isis Black, and the knock at her door that changed her life. That’s really the essence of Death’s Intern. What would you do if Death knocked at your door with a job offer? Would you take it or run for the hills? Isis had a choice: to walk away or take the job. But her only friend in Texarkana went missing and nobody wasn’t interested in finding him. She took the leap to work for Death, with a 5,000-year-old talking cat and a boy genius, to find her friend and put an end to the kidnappings.

What inspired you to write someone who has to work as an untrained Intern for Death?

The idea of the horsemen (especially Death) has fascinated me for years. Are they real? Are they really waiting around waiting for the Apocalypse? When I started brainstorming this book, those thoughts kept popping into my mind and wouldn’t let go. What if Death was an entity and had a mission? What would that mission be? Even more, could Death use an intern? What would this intern do? Those questions were so exciting that I decided to explore them in this book. To add a bit more chaos to the situation, what would happen if the intern was new? So this book is a fun exploration of a lot of what ifs, and my take on a potential world of magic and wonder.

Tell us more about Isis Black. What makes her tick?

Isis is an orphan, raised by her free-spirited godmother. To rebel against her unstructured upbringing, she joined the military. For most of her life, she has been looking for a place to call home. The series takes us on this journey as she pursues her search for her own tribe. The fun part comes when Isis realizes she would do anything to protect them.

Where does your fascination with the supernatural come from?

From a very young age, the supernatural world has fascinated me. I remembered growing up in the Dominican Republic and hearing all the old tales of witches and the likes. When my family moved to the states, we settled in Salem, MA. The world of Salem and everything around the history of this country just fueled that passion and the magic of that world. It’s no wonder a lot of my stories have magic and witches. There is a certain level of mysticism around that world that I enjoy jumping into it.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

One of my favorite things to do is cook. I have been cooking for decades and fortunately, I’m pretty good at it. Lately, I don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, which is a true shame. I tried to at least spend Sundays playing around in the kitchen and experimenting with different recipes.

Your characters are fun and quirky. How do you go about creating them?

Honestly, their quirky personalities happened by accident. I never set out to make them quirky. Instead, I give my characters the freedom to speak to me and develop themselves. A reviewer brought it to my attention how quirky they were, and at first, it took me aback. Then a dear friend pointed out that I was extremely quirky as well, and as she stated, it was not a bad thing.

What did you have the most fun with when writing Death's Intern?

To this day, I have the most fun writing fight scenes or car chases. Imagining the action and translating it to the page is absolutely a blast. In Death’s Intern, one of my favorite scenes is when the bad guys blow up Isis' minivan. All the vehicles in the series have names, and the minivan was named Blue. I have a secret love/hate relationship with minivans, for no true reason. So in my mind, the minivan had to go. It was a pleasant surprise when readers mentioned the death of Blue and how sad they were about it. At least I know I created a fun connection for them.

Do any of your characters ever take off on their own tangent, refusing to do what you had planned for them?

All the time Constantine is in a scene, he just takes over. That insane talking cat has a personality larger than life. As part of the series, there is a novella called The Origins of Constantine, all about his story. That was probably the first book that a character kidnapped my book and ran with it. Now I just expected Constantine to do his own thing and leave me behind.

You are also a motivational speaker. How has this influenced your writing?

I’m always looking for ways to inspire and motivate others. That passion has leaked into my writing, sometimes by accident. Characters will find the positive side of things, even when things looked doomed. Or the stories will focus on a humorous way of approaching life instead of letting the dark side take over. I’m always pleased when readers connect with those people/situations and find themselves inspired by them.

When you get an idea for a new book while still working on one, how do you deal with that?

This is an outstanding question. I truly believe I only get ideas for new books when I’m in the middle of another. Because it happens so often to me, I carried a notebook around. When those ideas come and visit (and they will), I write them down. If the ideas continue to pop into my mind, then I pursued a story with it.

Do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do to combat that?

Writer’s block is something that happens more than I care to admit it. At first, I tried to push myself past it. After many failed attempts, I changed my focus. I do something physical now, like riding on my spinning bike. A good session with lots of loud music has a way to free those thoughts and help me back to writing.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I’m not a very traditional writer. Many of my friends write every day, and I’m totally jealous of that. I, on the other hand, have a unique tradition. I’m more of a binge-writer. When I have a book that is coming due, I’m completely committed to it, to the point of obsession. Then I don’t write till the next one comes due. Probably not the best practice, but it works for me.

What are you working on right now?

I’m currently working on book two in a new series, The Order’s Assassin. Book one is a fun novella called The Hitman. This series takes place in the same universe as Death’s Intern and picks up at the end of the series with a side character called Eric. It’s been a fun process to discover who Eric truly is and the trouble that powerful witches can get into. Book two, The Traitor, releases this fall.

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

The easiest way to find me is on my website, https://dcgomez-author.com. I have links there to all my socials, books, and even my email. I really enjoy connecting with readers and learning more about their passions.

Thank you so much for this incredible opportunity. I had a blast. Sending lots of love and happy reading to everyone!