Interview with DD Prince, Author of Wild

What can you tell us about your new release, Wild?

I’m a multi-genre romance author with contemporary, dark, and paranormal romances and this is my very first shifter romance. Shifter books were what got me back into reading about 8 or 9 years ago and I knew I’d eventually want to write one, but I also knew I wanted mine to be different. I’ve been marinating with this story idea for a couple years. Wild starts like a Tarzan and Jane scenario because our werewolf grows up without his pack and away from humans, so he doesn’t have a lot of social skills. He smells this girl and all he knows is that he’s finally got his mate and doesn’t have to be alone any longer. This makes for some interesting scenarios. He’s extremely alpha and possessive and wants nothing more than to convince our reluctant heroine that they’re destined mates. It’s a story with some fun, a little darkness, steam, feels, and a few surprises. I’m hoping it becomes a series and while there’s no cliffhanger, there are some hints about stories for some of the secondary characters.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I’ve always loved to write stories and got a lot of encouragement from teachers. I started writing a dark romance novel at fifteen years old. I picked it up and put it down, scrapped the idea and started over many times. It eventually became my first book, The Dominator, which was released in 2015.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

The book that has stayed with me the most is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It was not only enthralling but absolutely unforgettable. It still haunts me more than ten years after reading it.

My favorite romance novel of all time is The Golden Dynasty by Kristen Ashley. It’s fantasy in a parallel universe with a girl from our universe who wakes up there. It’s an incredible journey and a romance with a whole lot of compromise. I’ve read it at least five times. She’s my favorite romance author and whenever I’m in a book slump, I go to her books for a re-read.

My favorite book as a young teen was Are You There God, it’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. Judy Blume’s books were extremely important to me as a girl heading into my teens when I felt like no one understood me. Several of her books helped me understand myself during that time.
This is so difficult. And I know I’ll think of others after I’ve answered this question so I’m only going to list those three, but I will say my current favorite authors include Kristen Ashley, Tiffany Reisz, CD Reiss, and JA Huss.

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask

Instead of a traditionally published / big name author, I think I’d want a big round table event with a bunch of my indie author friends. I’d love to give them a chance to be in the spotlight. This career can be very isolating. If not for a few authors that I think of as my tribe, it’d be very lonely.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

I both enjoy and loathe parts of the process because of how gruelling it can be, but there’s a point in the process I’ve nicknamed The Zone. This is where I want to be. It’s where the words flow like silk and where I do nothing but live and breathe the story. I wake up excited to get back to my desk to see what’s about to happen next and I always know that when I hit The Zone, typing The End isn’t far off.

What is a typical day like for you?

As an indie author, I spend time marketing my books, interacting with my readers, planning, and doing a bunch of admin stuff as well as the actual writing. I’ve tried to structure my day for maximum productivity but mostly I just wing it (unless I’m in the aforementioned Zone). There are days where I get distracted or spend a day on graphics and other days when I bang out 10K words. Sometimes I’m writing at the crack of dawn bright-eyed and sometimes I’m writing until three o’clock in the morning because the story is just playing out in my head and I need to get it down.

What scene from Wild was your favorite to write?

Tyson was stolen from his pack as a baby and lied to about why. He has always felt like there was a missing piece in his joyless life. There’s a scene with him and his cousin running as wolves when he first begins to let his guard down with these people who tell him they’ve mourned his loss for years. I loved how free he felt in that scene, both as a wolf and as a man when he and his cousin were talking afterwards. He returned to our heroine all happy and playful and opened up even more with his family before kicking them out so he could ravish his woman. I think I smiled from ear to ear the whole time I wrote that chapter.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

I just try my best to be kind. You never know what someone else is dealing with in their life despite a smile on their face or in the case of a scowl. And with my books, I just try to write in a way that gives people a fun escape.

DD Prince is the author of the new book Wild.

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