Once again, welcome back to Duck Chat!

Today C.L. Wilson is with us, and if you’re looking for a fresh, new, intriguing,and oh-so-romantic series, has she got one for you!

Born and raised in Texas, Cheryl’s imagination came alive at a young age when she fell in love with fantasy stories and began writing her own. She continued writing, never giving up, until she finished a 1,000-page manuscript that she promptly sent out to publishers. And they promptly sent it back to her. But it was Dorchester Publishing that finally took a chance on such a lengthy manuscript along with a new author, and the rest, as they say, is history. Cheryl’s Tairen Soul series hit the shelves, fans became enamored, and now with four books in the series down and one to go, a 25-year success story is born.

Cheryl now lives in Florida with her husband and their two sons and a menagerie of animals, both domestic and wild. She’s continuing to work on her Tairen Soul series, but has another book in the works, after which she’ll return to the Tairen series to give fans stories about some of their favorite secondary characters. Be sure to leave a comment or a question for Cheryl today. She’s giving away a copy of Queen of Song and Souls.

Now let’s chat!

DUCK CHAT: Cheryl, first congratulations on such a success story you’ve had over the last couple of years with your Tairen Soul series. Having your first book/series published, meeting and friending some of your favorite authors, fans clamoring for more of your books – what in the world has this ride been like for you, especially after 25 years of dedicated writing before the big break came along?

C.L. WILSON: Thanks so much! And thanks so much, Ladies of GB&U, for having me here today. As for the ride, it’s literally been the roller coaster of a lifetime. I’ve had enormous highs, last year with all the problems getting Queen of Song and Souls complete was a real low, but the ride keeps rushing on, and scary though it occasionally may seem, I don’t want it to end any time soon. 

I love writing. I love receiving letters from readers who have enjoyed my books. I love meeting people and encouraging other writers to pursue their dreams. I love my children being proud of their mom, and my husband posting my book covers in his office at work.

DC: If you could retire any question and never, ever have it asked again, what would it be? Feel free to answer it.

CW: LOL…I’m not going to complain about any question. I’m still just so thrilled someone wants to know.  There are questions I get asked so frequently that I’ve created standard answers and stored them in outlook so I don’t have to type the same thing again and again, but that’s just to save time, not because I mind the question.

DC: I’ve heard writers often say their stories take them in surprising directions, or dialogue flows from some unknown place. Is it the same with you? Do your characters surprise you sometimes?

CW: Absolutely – that’s the magic of writing, and that’s what keeps me writing. If I know everything – if I can’t surprise myself – I get bored long before I reach the end of the book. That’s why plotting everything out BEFORE I write the book doesn’t work for me. I have to plot out basic character and story arcs, I have to have some idea of the four major turning points in the book, and then I have to jump in and go on the journey of discovery with my characters. So many surprising things happen to us all along the way, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

DC: Would you give our readers an overall look at the Tairen Soul series, how it came about, and has it evolved as you originally envisioned it?

CW: How much time do we have? LOL. Tairen Soul – the original manuscript and the series – was the product of me examining my two favorite genres (fantasy and romance) and my favorite (and bestselling) novels in those genres and trying to figure out (a) what made them so appealing to me and (b) how I could combine all my favorite things into one book.

It originally started out as a single book, more romance than fantasy. But then I decided to put my JRR Tolkien-inspired spin on the book—creating my own language, writing poetry, etc.—and it really took on a life of its own. Then, after 9-11, the story took on more depth, more meaning, and I began to use the plot and the difficulties confronting Rain and Ellysetta to work out my own personal struggles over the events of 9-11. I began to use the book to examine in my own small way the nature of good and evil, and the ideals of honor and freedom and sacrifice. I’ve even found myself changing some long held personal beliefs during the course of writing the books.

DC: Do you ever argue with your characters while you’re writing? Who usually wins?

CW: LOL…I don’t argue with them. I call them names occasionally. I also talk to myself in the shower (and sometimes elsewhere). If I do it around my kids, they just roll their eyes and say, “Mom’s talking to herself again.”

DC: What is sure to distract you from sitting down and working/writing?

CW: A phone call from a friend. Not that I mind. I love my friends and love to hear from them. Email can also distract me, but I try to keep that under control.

DC: Though Rain is the hero throughout the series, a lot of your fans have fallen in love with a number of other heroes – Bel, Gaelen, and a good many of Ellie’s Guard. First, did this surprise you at all? And is there a chance any of these characters may get their own book in the future?

CW: No, it didn’t surprise me. *I* fell in love with those secondary characters too . At the moment, I’m contracted for a book about Bel and another about Gaelen. As for the rest, the gods weave as the gods will  I have far more ideas than I have time to write them all!

DC: What has been your favorite book cover from all of your releases and why?

CW: Queen of Song and Souls, hands down. All of Judy’s (Judy York, the cover artist) covers are gorgeous, but Queen is positively stunning. It has a romantic fantasy feel. Ellysetta looks every bit as beautiful and regal as I imagined her Fey self to be. I love the silhouettes of the tairen flying in the sky. And I loved the stone tairen Judy put at the entrance to Dharsa on the back cover.

DC: Queen of Song and Souls, the fourth book in the series, released just last week. Would you give us a look inside and let fans know what to expect in this edition?

CW: Queen was supposed to be the final installment of Rain and Ellysetta’s story, but my idea of a book and a publisher’s idea of a book are about 200-300 pages apart! So, Queen has become something of a “bridging” book that sets up the final chapter – Tairen Soul, in which all secrets will at last be revealed, all enemies confronted, all plots and subplots merged and concluded.

Queen primarily deals with Rain and Ellysetta’s last ditch efforts to gather the ancient magical allies to confront the High Mage of Eld’s vast army, Ellysetta finally learning the truth about her past and her purpose, and the coming-to-fruition of the evil High Mage’s plans for Celieria.

When Tairen Soul (book 5) begins, everything is going to start rushing headlong toward the cataclysmic climax I’ve been working towards these past four years. I’m really looking forward to writing the “Big Finale” which I’ve deliberately held off writing, because that is my reward for getting everything else completed.

DC: How about your least favorite cover? Why?

CW: I have a least favorite, but I’m not going to share it. There’s enough negativity in the world without me adding to it 

DC: How do you feel your male or female characters have evolved over your career? Do you think you write them differently now than you did when you started?

CW: I don’t think I have enough of a career yet to answer this question.

DC: More great news concerning the series is that there will be a fifth book. Tell me your fans aren’t delighted about that! May we get a sneak peek into that story? Please??

CW: Ha! Nope. It’s still a work in progress. I will say it’s going to be full of action and surprises. And I think all the readers who’ve been waiting for Rain and Ellysetta’s story to play out will not be disappointed. There are quite a few readers who’ve written me over the years with their ideas of what’s going to happen. Some of those will probably crow, “I knew it!” in a couple of places, but several others will likely say, “No way! How did I miss that?”

I’m very excited about the book – probably more excited than I’ve been since typing “THE END” on the first Tairen Soul manuscript 4 years ago.

DC: Is there a genre you haven’t tackled but would like to try?

CW: There are genres I’ve tackled as an unpublished author that I would like to get back to (contemporary romance, for one, maybe a little light romantic comedy). I also have a YA fantasy I’ve been promising my children for years that I would write for them. I think that’s going to be my afternoon project once I get TS finished and off to the editor.

DC: What advice would you give to your younger self?

CW: Believe in yourself. Don’t smoke. And buy stock in Google!

DC: The Tairen Soul from the series has been immortalized in the art world. Artist Heather Carr has painted your famed winged cat, titled it “Arrival in the High Reaches,” and done a beautiful job. Have you talked to her personally about what inspired her to do the painting, if she’s read your books and what she thought? What was your reaction when heard about this and then saw the actual rendition?

CW: Yes. Heather actually contacted me after reading Lord of the Fading Lands, which she picked up specifically because of the tairen on the back cover. She’s a professional wildlife artist, but she wrote to tell me she used to sketch bat-winged panthers when she was in high school, and told me my books had inspired her to pick those fantasy art sketches back up. That led to a couple of paintings straight from the books themselves (“Steli chakai” and “Tairen’s Play”) and countless sketches waiting to be turned into paintings. She’s amazingly talented!

Honestly, when I look at her paintings, it’s as if she’s crawled into my brain and pull the pictures straight from my own imagination. They are perfect. Absolutely perfect. She’s managed to bring my visions to life.

We’ve had several phone conversations, lots of email chats, and she came out to visit not long ago and we sat down to discuss the possibility of some collaborative projects. I hope to have some exciting news to announce very soon!

DC: If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

CW: Try me. You’ll like me. :p

DC: What would be your “voice’s” tagline?

CW: Oh shoot. I don’t know. Lush and evocative, maybe. Or…Godiva for the brain: smooth, rich and deliciously addictive. (I think I’m hungry now.)

DC: I know you’ve gotten a lot of mail since readers have been discovering your books. Are there maybe a couple that really stand out or have touched you more than any others?

CW: You know, trying to answer this sent me on a six-hour detour through my mail box, twitter, facebook, etc. I am sooo ADD. Ah, well, back to the subject at hand.

I have had some truly, truly touching emails from readers who said my books helped them through the death of a loved one, through their own or a family member’s deployment in Iraq, and a very special one from a lady who wrote to thank me because her learning-disabled teenager read a book cover to cover for the first time – and that book was Lord of the Fading Lands. Most of all, I go back and read the outpouring of encouragement from readers who write me—often saying I’m the first author they’ve ever written—to tell me how much my books have touched their lives, how much they love the world I’ve created, and how much they hope I’ll continue to write about the characters they’ve come to love.

It’s a blessing—a real, honest-to-goodness blessing—to know that my books have touched so many people. But it works both ways. Because I’ve touched them, they write to me and touch me with their words too. And I am so grateful to be here, living this life, sharing experiences with so many amazing people.

DC: If you had never become an author, what do you think you would be doing right now?

CW: Probably what I was doing before I was an author – marketing communications and training for high tech companies.

DC: There’s a language unto itself throughout the series. Is this an actual language or one from your imagination just as the entire story itself is?

CW: I created Feyan. Words are like music to me, and I love to put them together in interesting ways. I’m always creating words and throwing them into conversation for the fun of it. Creating Feyan was a bit like jamming with phonemes. I built a syntax based on a mix of English and French and established root words that I transform into other words based on meanings. I try to spell somewhat phonetically, though I use romance language pronunciations mixed in with English phonetics. It’s been loads of fun. I’m not an uber nerd, but I am a word geek.

DC: Any other works in progress you can tell us about?

CW: Until I finish Tairen Soul, I don’t feel comfortable working on another project.

DC: What’s on the horizon for C.L. Wilson?

CW: Once Tairen Soul is complete, I will be revising my novel, Winter King, (an alternate-world set fantasy I can’t wait to get back to again.) and probably working on my YA fantasy or a contemporary fantasy novel running around in my brain. After Winter King, it’s back to the Fading Lands to write Bel’s story, and then Gaelen’s story.

Lightning Round:

– dark or milk chocolate?    – Milk. Godiva, preferably.
– smooth or chunky peanut butter?     – Smooth!
– heels or flats?      – Flats. I’m a comfort girl.
– coffee or tea?    – Coffee. Well actually, coffee in the am. Decaf Green or Herbal tea in the afternoon.
– summer or winter?    – Winter Most preferred: Spring and Fall 
– mountains or beach?    – Mountains overlooking the ocean!
– mustard or mayonnaise?    – Mayo
– flowers or candy?     – BOTH
– pockets or purse?    – purse
– Pepsi or Coke? neither.     – The only carbonation I drink comes in beer or champagne. :p
– ebook or print?     – Print

And because we still enjoy the answers we get:

1. What is your favorite word?    – Changes all the time. Exquisite is one. Masticate is another, just because it sounds so naughty but isn’t. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Scrumpdillyicious. Generally, however, I love words that evoke emotion.
2. What is your least favorite word?     – Vagina and Penis. They just sound so…clinical and harsh. Racial and ethnic slurs.
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?     – Sunshine. Laughter. Bright spring days. Blue skies dotted with puffy white clouds. Fresh fallen snow. Majestic mountain forests, lush and green and seemingly endless. Nature. Children. Love and laughter. Stars at night.
4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?    – Negativity. Personal betrayal. Book piracy.
5. What sound or noise do you love?    – Falling water; waves crashing on the beach; thunder in the distance. My children laughing.
6. What sound or noise do you hate?    – Fluttering wings against my office window- or anywhere near me. (I’m something of an ornithophobe, though my fears are *not* irrational. Birds consistently and frequently dive bomb me- any time I’m in an open air restaurant, and frequently when I’m driving my car. I love large, beautiful birds – at a distance! Eagles, flamingos, herons, peregrine falcons, etc. Hate, hate, HATE pigeons. Ew. Rats with wings. )
7. What is your favorite curse word?    –  One of the seven ones you can’t say on TV. (and for those George Carlin fans out there – it’s not poopoo/doodoo/good old number 2) But it usually only flies out when I’m angry, and then the little booger just won’t be silenced!
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?    – This is it for me. I am doing my dream job. Of course, I wouldn’t turn down a chance to be a beauty queen, an astronaut, or Empress of All She Surveys.
9. What profession would you not like to do?     – Clean bedpans. clean sewers. Deal with decomposing bodies. Anything that involves smells that make you gag.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?     –  I know Heaven exists. And though I’d like to hear, “Well done, Cheryl. Well done.” I expect I’ll hear instead, “You’re late. AGAIN.”

DC: Cheryl, what a pleasure it’s been to have you here! Thank you so much!