Featured Interview With Amber Daulton
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I live in western North Carolina, USA, and it’s so beautiful here. A five-hour drive east takes me to the beach, but an hour drive west takes me up the Great Smoky Mountains where I enjoy hikes, picnicking at a waterfall, and visiting historical sites. I love waking up in the morning and the fog is so thick I can barely see ten feet in front of me. At night, the stars are so crisp and clear like a twinkling blanket over the earth.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I read my first romance book when I was 12 after I snuck a Harlequin paperback out of my mom’s bedroom. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I wanted to create my own story about two people having an adventure and falling in love. I wrote with pencil in a spiral-bound notebook and finished that 200-plus-page story in about six months. After that, I focused on writing short stories but jotted down a lot of ideas for future full-length novels, some of which I’ve actually written as an adult.
I published my first book almost eleven years ago when I was 26, and Dark Hearts Aflame is now my nineteenth book to date. I have several more manuscripts on my computer waiting to see the light of day.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t have a favorite author or someone who inspires me. Mostly, my inspiration comes from the world around me, things I see or do. Often, I get ideas from my dreams.
However, I gravitate toward romantic suspense and paranormal romance more than any other sub-genre of romance.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Dark Hearts Aflame is one of my most favorite stories that I’ve written. Originally, it was meant to be the fifth and final book of the Arresting Onyx series, but once I was done writing it, I realized it had very little to do with the other books. In fact, it didn’t even take place in the same country! Yikes! Beyond that, this book introduced new characters and opened the door for the possibility of more books.
So I had to make a tough choice: cut the book from the Arresting Onyx series and never publish it; keep it as part of the original series even though it didn’t really make sense; or create a spin-off, which would be the most time-consuming and more difficult of the three choices. Well, I’m sure you can guess what I decided on.
New books. A new series. More years of my life devoted to this fictional world. — I was excited, intimidated, frustrated. My emotions were all over the place. All I could think of was: the creation of a spin-off would be SO MUCH WORK!
I remember the day when I finally made my choice. My hubby and I spent several hours discussing the pros and cons, and he held me while the stress got so much that I broke down in tears. But once I got the crying out of me, I felt better, fresher, more clearheaded, like I could take on the world. At least, the dangerous fictional world that I was creating.
So I revised Dark Hearts Aflame to stand better as the first book in the new spin-off, the Lozano Cartel. It’s now available for preorder at all online retailers and will be released on April 8, 2025. I’m currently writing the first draft of book 2, Lost in His Spiderwebs, which will have an October 2025 release date. A few novellas and more novels shall follow.
The thing about the Lozano Cartel series is that it’s much darker and steamier than Arresting Onyx. Some readers may love it, some may not, but I had to show respect to the characters and write the stories that fit them and the treacherous world in which they live. Hopefully, readers will enjoy the ups, downs, and happily ever afters.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Leave a Reply