How do create great
chemistry between characters?
I’m a big believer in the saying, opposites
attract. Or maybe it’s not so much attract as cause the sparks to fly. I think
all stories are driven by conflict. It’s what gives them life and energy. So, you
need lots and lots of reasons why these two people can’t fall in love and live
happily ever after.
I also think, especially for romance, much of the
conflict must be internal and come from who they are, and their past
experiences, rather than what’s going on around them right now. You need to dig
deep into your characters find out what pushes their buttons, what winds them
up, makes them furious, and then get the other person to press those buttons.
But for this to work there also needs to be an
underlying attraction. Because it’s easy to ignore people if you’re not
attracted to them, and then where’s the story?
So, for great chemistry you need two people who
are deeply attracted to each other and then lots of reasons why they can’t, or
won’t, act on that attraction.
With my Dark Desires series, at this point I
already know at least one of the main characters when I start plotting a new
book. I tend to take that character and then think who would be the absolute
worst type for this person to fall in love with. For example, in Death Defying,
book 3 in the series, we have Tannis, who hates authority of any kind, and
Callum, who’s the leader on the known universe. It’s clear, however gorgeous
she finds him, she’s not going to give in without a fight.
What and Who inspires
you?
I get inspiration from everywhere, books, TV,
movies, news articles, just sitting and watching the world go by.
Probably, one of the biggest influences on me was
The Lord of the Rings, which I first read when I was about ten, and still
reread. And which made me realize there are whole new worlds out there to
explore, much more exciting than the one I lived in.
Star Wars had a huge impact on me when I first saw
it as a teenager (and fell irrevocably in love with Han Solo). And
paranormal-wise, Anne Rice’s, Interview with a Vampire, totally changed my
attitude to vampires, from being the villains of the story (as they had been in
the past) to potential romantic heroes.
I’d say my main inspiration for my Dark Desires
series was Firefly, just about my favorite TV series. I was watching it (I
think for the third time) when I decided I absolutely had to write a space
opera.
Who would you cast in a
movie of this novel?
I always find this so hard, but here goes…
Leads:
Candy: Megan Fox
Thorne: Jonathon Rhys Meyers
Supporting Cast:
Daisy and Fergal: Scarlett Johansson and Charlie
Hunnam
Tannis and Callum: Mila Kunis and Alexander
Skarsgard
Rico and Skylar: Aiden Turner and Natalie Portman
Alex and Jon: Kristen Stewart and Joe Manganiello
Break Out by Nina
Croft
Dark Desires #1
Tagline: The
immortal heart knows no bounds.
About Break Out:
The year is 3048, Earth is no longer habitable, and man has
fled to the stars where they’ve discovered the secret of immortality—Meridian. Unfortunately,
the radioactive mineral is exorbitantly expensive and only available to a
select few. A new class comprised of the super rich and immortal soon evolves.
The Collective, as they’re called, rule the universe.
Two-thousand-year-old Ricardo Sanchez, vampire and rogue
pilot of the space cruiser, El Cazador, can’t resist two things:
gorgeous women and impossible jobs. When beautiful Skylar Rossaria approaches
him to break a prisoner out of the Collective’s maximum security prison on
Trakis One, Rico jumps at the chance. Being hunted by the Collective has never
been so dangerous–or so fun!
Links:
Deadly Pursuit by
Nina Croft
Dark Desires #2
Tagline: Eternal
love is the greatest risk of all.
About Deadly Pursuit:
Breaking assassin Jonathon Decker out of a maximum-security
prison on Trakis One seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, pursued across
space by the two most powerful factions in the universe, the crew of El Cazador
are having second thoughts. They’d like to give him back. Unfortunately, that
is no longer an option.
Jon is used to working alone. Now, he’s stuck on the space
cruiser El Cazador until he can work out just what he’s supposed to know that
puts him on everybody’s most-wanted-dead list. He’s not happy that the crew
includes a runaway priestess with designs on his virtue—such as it is. Jon
likes women, but he gave up the role of protector a long time ago, and Alexia,
High Priestess of the Church of Everlasting Life, is an accident waiting to
happen.
After twenty-four excruciatingly boring years of doing her duty,
Alex is finally having some fun. She never meant to run away—it was a rash
impulse—and she means to go back—eventually. But first, she’s going to squeeze
enough excitement out of the situation to last her a lifetime. And what could
be more exciting than a stunningly gorgeous werewolf?
Meanwhile, the Church are chasing their missing priestess,
and the Collective are pursuing their escaped assassin. Being hunted has never
been more deadly…or more fun.
Links:
Death Defying by Nina
Croft
Dark Desires #3
Tagline: Eternal
love is the greatest risk of all.
About Death Defying:
Captain Tannis of the starship El Cazador is part snake,
part human, and—according to some—all bitch. She is one job away from her
lifelong goal—to achieve the immortality she craves. The assignment: protecting
the most powerful man in the Universe.
After five hundred years, Callum Meridian, founding member
of the Collective, is bored out of his mind. Until he realizes he’s physically
changing—into what, he isn’t sure. Callum is determined to discover the truth,
but his own people will stop at nothing to prevent it from coming out.
With a coup brewing and the crew of El Cazador close to
tossing him off the ship, Callum turns to Tannis. Sparks fly as they work
together to make it out alive. But can Callum really trust the one woman hell
bent on using him? Defying death has never been more dangerous, more sexy, or
more fun.
Links:
Temporal Shift by
Nina Croft
Dark Desires #4
Tagline: Caught
between destiny and desire…
About Temporal Shift:
After diving into a black hole in search of the source of
Meridian, the key to immortality, the crew of the Blood Hunter finds themselves
stranded in an alternate universe.
Engineer Devlin Stark doesn’t want immortality. He just
wants to live long enough to get his revenge on the man who murdered his
brother. Now, he’s trapped in a strange world with a crazy woman who claims
he’s fated to be her lover.
Saffira Lourdes has a destiny: to save humanity and lead her
exiled people to the Promised Land. Haunted by visions of the past and future,
she’s been sustained through the years by a dream lover. Unfortunately, Devlin
doesn’t believe in fate. But it’s obvious there’s a connection between them,
one that will soon be tested by the limits of time and space. Saffira is about
to make the crew of the Blood Hunter an offer they’ll find impossible to refuse.
They’re heading back to Earth, and they’re going back in
time…
Links:
Blood and Metal by
Nina Croft
Dark Desires #5
Tagline: She’s
his last chance for redemption…if she doesn’t kill him first.
About Blood and
Metal:
Copilot of the Blood Hunter, Daisy is a newly-turned
vampire, and she’s hungry. Really hungry and it’s interfering with her
plans for revenge. Unfortunately, the only thing that can distract her from
said hunger is sex…which is a problem when she can barely refrain from draining
any man dry within moments. But old flame Fergal Cain might just be the
sexy-assed solution to her problem.
Part human, part cyborg, and with a poison coursing through
his system, Fergal’s running out of time to find the scientist who has the
cure. Unfortunately for him, the misfit crew of the Blood Hunter put a
serious kink in his plans. And if the poison doesn’t kill him, the hot little
vamp he can’t resist might do the honors herself…
Links:
Flying Through Fire
by Nina Croft
Dark Desires #6
Tagline: Saving
the universe sucks.
About Flying Through
Fire:
For ten thousand years he’s done his duty. Now he wants
something for himself…
Winged monsters have been seen in the skies, and a
pestilence follows in their wake, threatening the very survival of mankind.
Only the crew of the Blood Hunter knows where they come from, and only one man
has the power to send them back—Thorne, a human/dragon hybrid in possession of
mental powers beyond comprehension.
Candace Decker doesn’t need anyone to look after her—she’s a
badass werewolf more than capable of protecting herself and those she loves.
All the same, she’s always been drawn to Thorne’s strength. In an uncertain
world, he’s the one man who makes her feel safe. And what Candy wants, she
usually gets.
But while Candy is tenacious, Thorne’s willpower has been
honed over ten thousand years. He might want her, but the last thing he needs
is an infatuation with a young, impetuous werewolf. Candy makes him lose
control, and that could have disastrous consequences.
As the threat escalates and they become separated by time
and space, Candy must find a way back to him, because while Thorne alone has
the power to defeat the dragons, only together can they finally bring peace to
the universe.
Links:
About Nina Croft:
Growing up in the cold, wet, north of England, Nina Croft
spent a lot of time dreaming of faraway sunnier places and ponies. When she
discovered both, along with a whole load of other things, could be found
between the covers of a book, her life changed forever.
Later, she headed south, picked up the perfect husband along
the way, and together they volunteered to work in Africa. There they discovered
a love of exotic places and a dislike of 9-5 work. Afterward they spent a
number of years travelling (whenever possible) intermingled with working
(whenever necessary.) Eventually they stumbled upon a remote area in the
mountains of southern Spain and the small almond farm they now call home.
Nina spends her days reading, writing and riding her mare,
Gencianna, under the blue Spanish skies—sunshine and ponies. She reckons this
is proof that dreams really can come true if you want them enough.
Connect with Nina:
Author Website: www.ninacroft.com
Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nina_Croft
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NinaCroft.Writer/
Author Pinterest: https://es.pinterest.com/nicolacleasby/
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NinaCroft.Writer/
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3378320.Nina_Croft
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