L.C. Son - Hopes, Dreams, and Heartbreak in an Epic Fantasy

L.C. Son is a wife of one, mom of three plus a Beagle. In addition to enjoying life with her amazing family, she can usually be found with her head in a book, binging her favorite shows, and watching movies with jaw-dropping scores! (She loves all things Danny Elfman!)Her first book, Beautiful Nightmare has everything you'd look to find in a paranormal romance-urban fantasy-new age novel. Vampires. Wolves. Love. And so much more! As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about it.

Please give us a short introduction to what Beautiful Nightmare is about.

Imagine preparing your heart for your wedding day only to see it crumble before your eyes, causing a powerful, supernatural force you never knew existed to awaken within you. That is what Beautiful Nightmare is all about!

But a more proper description might say this—

Damina Nicaud, a beautiful, successful art buyer in Washington, D.C., is plagued by romantic dreams of a mystery man every night. When a broken heart leads her to New Orleans, she discovers a love powerful enough to unleash an ancient power residing within herself. Add in vampires and wolves, she soon discovers some nightmares are beautiful.

What inspired you to write about nightmares, vampires, and wolves?

I love this question! I have always been in tune with dreams and nightmares. I see it as our sixth sense—they are trying to tell us something. Although I know some of the imagery in our dreams is a montage of feelings and fantasy, I do believe there are deeper meanings to uncover if we pay attention.

Now vampires and wolves were the easy part! Since I was a kid, I’ve always enjoyed supernatural fantasy surrounding vampires and wolves. However, I wanted to do something different with my vampires and wolves. In most stories, the wolves are the tree-hugging, rugged members of the supernatural community. In the Beautiful Nightmare Universe they are the more polished and aristocratic creatures. They live in an orderly community where there are rules and a governing body. The vampires, on the other hand are a bit more uncouth. Since there are Altrinion-Vampires who are of supernatural lineage and Scourge vampires, humans who are bitten, there is a big socio-class element that lends itself to a more chaotic and unsubdued part of the supernatural community.

Mix them all together and you’ve got your hands full in quite a nightmare of sorts!

Tell us more about Damina Nicaud.  What makes her tick?

Damina is a pretty even keel and easy-going young woman. She loves art and exploring all the beauty in the world. I’d say she’s cultured and is connoisseur of rare antiquities, painting, and archaeology. She is a Sagittarius, so while she may be calm and laid back, she can be the eye of a storm if someone hits her hot buttons. Primarily, Damina frowns on rude behavior and condescending tones, but she loathes betrayal most of all.

Why did you pick New Orleans as the backdrop for your story?

New Orleans has always been a favorite city of mine! I suppose watching Interview with a Vampire when I was teen was my first lure into New Orleans. Watching Lestat and Louie venture through the city piqued my curiosity into all thing’s vampires and New Orleans. When I finally had an opportunity to travel there as an adult and take in all the sites, smells, and sounds, it made me love it even more.

Given the artistic culture of New Orleans and it being a birthplace of all things supernatural, I thought it a fitting start for my debut.

This seems to be the opening book of a series.  How do the other books tie in with this one?

Yes, Beautiful Nightmare is the first book in the series. To date, I’ve published a companion novel, Hearts Eclipsed, which is an alternate point of view telling of the story from Damina’s suitors. The second book in the series, Awaken, released in August and it picks up right where the first ends.

However, I must admit I’ve become fully immersed in building and exploring the Beautiful Nightmare Universe (affectionately the BNU). To that end, I’ve also written three short stories that explore other major themes and characters. With Hearts Like Fire gives insight to a primary antagonist, Decaux Marchand and the making of his villainhood. With Clipped Wings of Butterflies shares the coming of age story of Damina’s aunt, Delia, and how weightiness of her past affects her family’s present. I AM NO WITCH, is my only YA fantasy story and introduces a whole new supernatural repertoire to the BNU. While each short story stems from the first book, I believe they can still be enjoyed as standalones.

Readers say this book was hard to put down.  How did you manage to keep it fast-paced throughout?

I’ll admit the first book is rather epic in length! It is not a one-sitting read, but it’s a big world we’re building and I wanted the readers to be well-versed in the BNU by the time they make it to book two or dive into the short stories. I think adding the artistic and romantic elements aided in moving the story along. You get to see the beautiful, artistic culture of New Orleans as well as dive deep into a hauntingly alluring love story.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Even as a kid I told “stories.” Often during my summers in the country with my family, I would share all the stories I had imagined. Thankfully, my aunts and older cousins would indulge me as they cooked or did chores. One of my cousins, LaSonya, told me I should I write it down, so I didn’t forget what I said. A part of me knows it was her polite way of telling her overly chatty little cousin to chill out, but I took her advice to heart and starting writing.

I never stopped after that. I wrote for the college newsmagazine and still do quite a bit of writing on my 9-5 in my professional career.

So yes, I guess you can say I think I always knew I wanted to be a writer!

What are you working on right now?

Presently, I am finalizing a short story, One Winter’s Kiss, a cozy romance that will also be part of the BNU. My next full-length novel is Untamed, which features the dangerously alluring villainess, Chartreuse Grenoble. Her story is a prequel to the present day and is both tragic and liberating to create. When we meet her in Beautiful Nightmare, Awaken, and With Clipped Wings of Butterflies, she is sugar, spice, and nothing nice! I am excited about her story even though she’s a villain. I believe even the vilest character has a story and I love to explore it and uncover their truth!

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

Thanks again for the interview! This has been fun! Readers can interact with me on the following:

Website: www.lcsonbooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LCSonBooks/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_l.c.son 
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/L-C-Son/ 
Goodreads https://bit.ly/2EwpEbl
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/l-c-son