Featured Interview With Pema Donyo
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born and raised in sunny Southern California! I’ll forever be a shorts-and-tank-top girl because of it. Currently adjusting to East Coast life as I’m working at a summer internship, but I plan to return back to the West Coast soon. Southern California is the setting for many of my stories. Perfect weather, golden palm trees, endless sunshine… it’s a great setting to both live in and set stories in.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always written stories, but fourth grade was really the year where I decided I wanted to be an author. That was the same year I read The School Story by Andrew Clements. It’s a novel about a twelve-year-old girl who writes a story and wants to see it published. The story made me realize that age wasn’t an obstacle. I thought I had to wait and become older and be a full-blown adult before I could even dream of publishing a book. Clements’s novel opened my eyes to understanding that age can’t hold you back from anything.
Writing’s also just always been an adventure for me. It’s a chance to explore my own creativity and see what I can come up. I’ve always thought the process of writing is very self-indulgent. It’s almost like being the sole screenwriter for a television show or movie. The author decides who’s cast, where the story’s set, what happens, what the characters say, how the characters act… It’s fun and frustrating all at the same time.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Like all readers, it pretty much changes with my mood. Romance is a definite mainstay for me. I tried to pin down the other day about why I love reading romance so much (and why I like writing about it), and I realized it’s because of the genre’s potential for conflict. Intense emotions are invoked during romantic drama, and this always thicken the plot of whatever the storyline may be.
I’m a sucker for twists and turns in my suspense stories, so thrillers are also a love of mine. Pairing romance with thriller/suspense elements is just a great story waiting to happen. I’m also fascinated by history, so historical romance is another favorite genre. Lee Child, Robert Ludlum, Meg Cabot, Moriah Densley, Rainbow Rowell, Andrew Clements… It’s a very diverse group of author influences!
Tell us a little about your latest book?
SYNOPSIS:
There are three rules to staying an assassin at the corporation of Covert Operatives: (1) your parents must be deceased, (2) your contracts must remain confidential, and (3) you must be under the age of eighteen.
After a murder mission goes awry a month before her eighteenth birthday, Covert Operatives assassin Jane Lu finds herself caught by the federal government and forced to spy for the CIA while remaining in Covert Operatives. Once her spying mission is over she will be allowed to live a civilian life without facing criminal consequences, a life she’s only dreamed of having.
As Jane leaks information to the CIA, she uncovers secrets with enough power to both destroy Covert Operatives and her own boyfriend, Adrian King, who’s next in line to be CEO of the company. When her identity as a double agent for the CIA is discovered within Covert Operatives, she must decide where her allegiance, and her heart, truly lies.
—
A little inspiration about why I wrote the book:
I’ve always loved the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child, but there was something about seeing an actual movie version of it which made me realize the severe lack of thriller female heroes. I’m not talking about James Bond’s femme fatales in size 0, or the female police officer whose only job seems to be agree with whatever the male detective says. “Heroines” always conjured up an idea of a damsels in distress for me, and I was tired of seeing that trope in action and suspense movies. Girls can kick ass as well.
I didn’t stop at just female heroes. I also wanted the characters to be around college-age. It’s a time when you’re trying to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life. It’s scary, I know – I’m living it. So while the characters in my novel are assassins, they’re also teenagers. Teens are capable of so much, and it’s time a novel highlighted this. A teenage female thriller hero? Yes, please. I know I would have loved to read such a series when I was growing up. Nancy Drew’s awesome, but I wanted a female hero who was just as skilled as the boys – including physical force.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles