Sharon's INSPIRATIONAL Short stories of Faith and Romance can be found HERE or visit her
Facebook Page, which also has the links in the comments.)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Gothic Encounter with Dayana Knight

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The hunter’s moon skittered across the starless sky, casting its blood-red glow on the nearby cemetery. For a fleeting second, the ghostly image of Dracula materialized above a headstone, his black cape rippling in the wind. Dayana’s flesh tingled at the sight. He had the face of a Greek god, six-pack abs she’d love to run her nine inch black fingernails through—and he was dressed in low cut black jeans, his belt buckle undone. His eyes gleamed with fire. Oh what a thrill.

From deep in the woods, a werewolf howled, its keening wail befittingly foreboding. Dayana smiled as she scurried into the courtyard surrounding the Gothic mansion. It was Halloween, her favorite holiday of the year. And what better night for the supernatural to come out and play. Costumed in her Gothic best, a brushed emerald velvet gown with a tight lace-up bodice and creamy lace trim, her flesh tingled with eager anticipation. The wind swooshed through the willowy pines in the forest, causing her long flowing sleeves to billow and flutter. The werewolf howled again, the cry of the wild crawling inside her skin. Oh how she loved this night, the paranormal, the supernatural, the otherworldly.

The torch lit candles shed an eerie glow on the two wolves keeping vigil at the fortress gate. Their eyes red-hot and gleaming, low growls spewing from deep in their throats, they granted her access to the mansion. As Dayana tugged on the rope to announce her entrance, shivers of anticipation raced down her spine. And with a groaning creak, the heavy oak door opened and Oliver stood there grinning, his razor-sharp fangs glowing like shards of molten glass.

You rang? Extending his hairy arm, he escorted the Gothic queen to the parlor where the guests had gathered for the Halloween party. The pet raven soared down the spiral staircase, his massive wings edged with spider webs. With a chilling screech, he swooped down on Dayana’s shoulder. An eerie whistle snaked its way through the dark corridor, the only light the gleaming red eyes of the mounted heads of werewolves. From the parlour, the theme song from Dark Shadows drifted, filling Dayana with nostalgic memories of centuries past.

The parlour was dark and sinister, rose-scented candelabras bathing the guests in ghoulish light. Sweeping branches from the pines painted willowy shadows on stained glass windows. The Werewolf of London stood in the dark recesses, chatting with the Queen of Darkness. Souls of the Living Dead floated about and the Tiger of London purred with feline delight. Sharon fluttered about, socializing with her guests, donned as a Gothic vampiress, her blood-red gown and ruby choker the perfect ensemble. She rushed to greet Dayana, snapping her fingers for Oliver to bring Dayana’s beverage of choice.

Sharon: Good evening, Gothic sister. You look most befitting on this night of nights. And here comes Oliver with your Kuluhah and Creme and a platter of Ritz crackers smothered with butter and strawberry jam and some PB & J sandwiches, your favorite comfort food.
Dayana: Sharon, thank you so much for having me and remembering my favorites. You are always such a dear!

Sharon: Raises her glass of Merlot. So while the guests gather around to meet you, do tell us about yourself.

Dayana Knight grew up near the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey where the legendary 13th Son, better known as the Jersey Devil was born and the popular television shows Dark Shadows, The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery.

As a young girl, Dayana thrived on anything supernatural and paranormal. It only made sense she’d grow up with a desire to write her own stories about her favorite creatures and things that go bump in the night. Dayana enjoys solitary walks in mist-covered forests, visiting century-old cemeteries, and spine-tingling ghost stories. And, of course, her favorite celebration is Samhain, All Saints Day, better known as Halloween.

She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Florida Romance Writers, Inc. and does free lane reviews when time allows. She can be found in the following venues

www.dayanaknight.blogspot.com
www.romawolftales.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=104397141900#/profile.php?id=100000032211790&ref=profile
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/DKWolftales
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/487513802

Sharon: Most excellent. And here comes Oliver with a refill and some dark chocolate delights, and a peanut butter mousse pie, smothered with whipped cream. He presents the culinary treats to Dayana, casting her a wicked wink.

Dayana: Oh my! Maybe I could smother you in whipped cream and dark chocolate as well,
Oliver. *Dayana winks and grins seductively licking her cherry red lips* You have certainly outdone yourself once again. Where did you find this delicious tall drink of a man or should I say vampire, Sharon?

Sharon: Raises her silver chalice, an evil smile curling her lips. Well,dear,let’s just say I got rid of Oliver’s nemesis and he is eternally grateful. Sharon winks. Ah, yes, this Merlot is most befitting tonight. So Dayana, now that you have the attention of the guests, why not tell us about your books and then answer a few questions before the dancing commences.

Curse of the Marhime

Blurb:
A routine visit to the grocery store and a chance encounter with a psychic plunges
Pita Sedgwick into a dark world of shape-shifting, magic, and Gypsy lore. Pita finds
herself on a plane to Romania, seeking the answers to her mysterious birth and in
search of her biological family. Fate intervenes in the form of handsome seatmate,
Niko Ionesciu. Pita is sure she’s found love and her history. But as her innocent
fact-finding mission spirals into a dangerous game of revenge and deceit with the
Gypsy Matriarch, the psychic’s words come back to haunt her. Can she trust the people
around her with her terrifying secret or will the search for her family end in the
ultimate betrayal?

Buy link:
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/curse-of-the-marhime-roma-wolf-tales-1-p-944.html?zenid=6a59bd9ffff45a8740327df917c5a6b4

Companion Story:

Bestial Cravings


(part of the Roma Wolf Tales series)

Blurb:
Vesta Johns has everything going for her—except her health. Desperate to find the
answers to her lethargy and her insatiable desire for raw meat and sex, she seeks
out the help of her doctor, but Dr. Cohen can give her no answers. Or can she?
Torrence Simiene is a medical consultant with a unique specialization. As an alpha
werewolf, it’s been his job to aid Dr. Cohen’s special patients through their transition
from human to shifter, for years. This time, however, it’s different. Vesta arouses
his primal lust, and he’s having a hard time keeping her at a distance.
Will the doctor’s plan of care offer the ultimate cure for Tor and Vesta’s bestial
cravings, or further drive them apart?

Buy Link:
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/bestial-cravings-p-1254.html?zenid=6a59bd9ffff45a8740327df917c5a6b41.


The guests break out in thunderous applause, and from inside the chamber walls, the skeletal remains rattle their bones. The raven clock screeches in the witching hour.

Sharon: Ah, let the fun begin. So tell us, what inspires you to write the paranormal, the supernatural and to what lengths to you let your imagination go?

Dayana: Ho boy! My imagination is why I write paranormal. I have a vivid imagination and had no problem anytime in my life entertaining myself. I used to playact the serial television show Dark Shadows as a child. I’d toss sheer curtains all over my room and pretend they were the cobwebs of the deserted “east wing” of the mansion and pretend I was wandering through its eerie halls. Of course, I was always AngeliqueJ I have loved the paranormal from a very tender age and it just feels natural to write it.

Sharon: Dark Shadows was always one of my favorites, especially on rainy, dreary days. So tell us about your book, the setting, the hero and heroine.

Dayana: The Roma Wolf Tales Series is set between Romanian Carpathian Mountains and the Montana Rockies. Curse of the Marhime is the first book of the series. (Book two is under construction as we speakJ)

Pita is an introverted young woman who is for the most part secure with her life. She lost her parents in a tragic car accident only a couple of years back and has always known she was adopted but had no interest in seeking out her biological parents…That is until now.

Niko is a self-assured artist that was born in Hungary and later migrated to Romania. He’s handsome yet has a devilishly boyish smile and very charming. Pita’s reaction to him is immediate.

The two meet as seatmates on a plane to Romania and pass a long layover in Munich as if they are new lovers. The strange thing is they share this eerie sensation when they touch, like an electrical current. They make plans to see each other again sometime and part ways.

You’ll just have to grab the book to learn moreJ

Sharon: Do you have one character in particular that lingers in your mind and if so why?

Dayana: If you speak generally, the one character that has touched my heart and will always remain in my mind is one from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I fell in love with James Fraser aka Jamie. I’ve read the series no less that the number of books in it. Each time I got the newest book, I went back and reread the series!

Sharon: Do you believe in magic and legend and lore?

Dayana: Absolutely! I believe there are unexplained things, entities, forces out there. Not in a crazy way. I believe that behind every legend there is fact. The legends and stories came from somewhere.

Sharon: Ah, a woman after me own heart. Tis the wee Irish lass in me! LOL Tell us about the Black Rose line and the supernatural
WITCHYS WIKKED GRAPHIX
Dayana: The Black Rose line takes the darker paranormal stories such as Vampire, Were/Shifters, Demons, Gargoyles, you get the picture. I know they would never turn away the lighter stories, but since the creatures we write about are more sensual, they typically consist of a spicier to hotter rating.

As far as the supernatural, I grew up with tales and family experiences that delved into the supernatural. I loved the adrenalin rush of hearing those tales and I, myself, had the desire to seek out the supernatural. We would take off into the night and drive into haunted woods, cemeteries – you name it. My favorite place was Batsto, an old village, now a historical landmark in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. I did a blog on the site not long ago and am writing a novella about the famed 13th Son or Jersey Devil now.

Sharon: What type of research do you do for the paranormal?

Dayana: Typically, I read and follow most things paranormal just for the sheer interest but I research anything I’m not familiar with thoroughly before I sit down to write it. For instance, I have never been to Romania, though people thought I had been and commented after reading Curse of the Marhime. I just dug in a gleaned any information I could about the country, its history, and its people. Also, I have a source in Romania as well as a friend who worked there for ten years that helped me immensely with the atmosphere and facts. I spent months printing out and researching the country. I have a four to five inch file just on that, LOL I did the same for Montana. I’ve not ever been there either.

I will tell you that I will see both Romania and the Rockies before I die! As well, Wolf Park in Battlecreek, Indiana.

Sharon: What’s next for Dayana Knight?

Dayana: I’ve got several projects in different stages. I am working on book two of the Roma Wolf Tale series, and I should probably mention here that Bestial Cravings, my latest work, is a companion short, which in effect introduces two of the newest characters into the mix. If you’ve read Curse but have not yet read BC you may want to pick that one up.

I’ve also got The Jersey Tale (working title) as I mentioned before in the works and am rewriting my first published novel for re-release sometime in the future. Now if I only had more hours in a day, more days in a week, I’d be getting somewhere!

Sharon: I adore superstitions and collect them in my magic wishing well. Can you share a favorite with me?

Dayana: Hmm…mine would be, I will not go out one door and come in another—Ever! People think it strange but I just can’t bring myself to do it, *grins* I always use the same doorway no matter how inconvenient.

Sharon: Hmmm. I have so many! So what do you suppose draws us to the rituals and customs of Halloween each year? The costumes? The decorating?

Dayana: For me, it’s the spirit and atmosphere of the holiday. It’s my way of celebrating the Pagan beliefs of nature. I am very basic and love the belief that the elements rule life. Mother Nature, earth, wind, water, fire. The moon and sun. For me it’s that simple. This is the day that signifies it for me.

Sharon: What is your favorite Halloween memory?

Dayana: My mother was always a great celebrator of Halloween as well and one year she made me a beautiful costume by hand of a Gypsy woman. I was so proud and felt so grown up (I was all of nine or ten, at the most). From my colorful ankle-length skirt to my huge silver hoop earrings and my long blonde hair now colored black (Whoa! Mom wasn’t happy with that decision when she couldn’t get the black stuff out of my hair, LOL) and all the bangles dangling about my wrists. I was definitely the cat’s meow that Halloween. I will always cherish that memory.

Sharon: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I would have to say Romania because I am infatuated with the country’s charm and imagery. After all that’s where Dracula came from and btw he was a real person and highly revered though his history is dark and brutal his goal was to protect his country first and foremost, thus legends come from fact, as I stated earlier. I love the image of the rolling hills, eerie forests, and wolves—my favorite creature next to domestic dogs.

Sharon: If you could star in any literary fiction which would it be and why?

Dayana: I would have to say Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series, LOL


Sharon: And last but not least, who would you want playing your romantic hero?

Dayana: Okay, here’s where we get a bit tricky. It would definitely be Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, but instead, he would be Mica, the shifter in the series:)

Sharon: Thank you, Dayana. Now what do you say we mingle and mix and do some dancing. And look who just blew in from Rumania. Why it’s Dracula!

As the theme from the X Files drifted through the room, Dracula pulled Dayana into his arms and shrouded her in his long, flowing cape.

Happy Halloween!!
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33 comments:

Sharon Donovan said...

Welcome Dayana Knight! Dayana will join us here at the Gothic Haunted House this evening. But in the meantime, Oliver will be happy to serve cocktails and munchies all day long. So grab a seat, watch out for the ghosts and goblins floating about and get those questions ready for Dayana! Enjoy the party!!

Sharon

Hywela Lyn said...

What a throughly entertaining - if a little bloodchiling - interview Sharon and Dayana. And may I say how dashing Oliver looks in his vampire disguise!

Fascinating learning all about you, Dayana, and we share a mutual admiration for the gorgeous Viggo Mortensen! I'm a 'Faery Rose' but I've read several 'Black Rose' authors and enjoyed them very much, it's good to be scared sometimes, especially when we know we can return to reality! Have you ever written anything other than paranormal?

Sharon Donovan said...

Hello, Lyn! Thank you for coming to the party. While we wait for Dayana, pull up a nail back and have some brew. Wink. Oliver's special brew. And would you look at him grinning from your compliment!

Dayana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dayana said...

Blasted typos, LOL Let me try again:)

Evening Sharon and thank you so much for inviting me here tonight. Thank you, Oliver, though after my party with Faith Smith I think I'll tone down the on the tainted beverages...perhaps just one more?

Hywela, so good to see you again, my Faery sister. Yes, as a matter of fact, I delve in the world of crime suspense as well. My first published novel was of that particular genre though I pulled the book for revisions recently and will re-release it sometime in the future with a bit of a paranormal twist woven in of course. The title is Dancing on the Edge and is still available in used capacity at Amazon.com and was published under another penname, SL Connors.

First books are always awakening years later, are they not?

Dayana~

Dayana said...

Oh and if I disappear for a bit, no worries, Oliver has promised me a tour of the mansion. Sharon, please keep things moving along if you don't mind. *Dayana winks* This place is so obscurely charming with a touch of chilling darkness to every corner that I just have to see every inch of it.

D~

Sharon Donovan said...

LOL Dayana. And I must say, Oliver will be only too happy to oblige! And here he comes now with a cup of his special brew! BTW, a writing instructor once told us the first book you write is seldom the first book sold. How true. My first book is still being reviewed, a thriller and it went through so many rewrites. But I've sold four others since. Sigh. Maybe some day! Well looks like Oliver is ready to take you on that tour. Ta ta!
Sharon

Hywela Lyn said...

Interesting that you also write crime suspense Dayana, another genre I enjoy reading. Good luck with the re-release of your book, I'll look out for it.

P.L. Parker said...

Gave me goosebumps. I love paranormal too. I'm trying to interest my husband in staying overnight in a haunted hotel, but he's not willing to discuss it. Books sound great. Good luck on sales.

Sharon Donovan said...

Hey, Lyn and Patsy! Here comes Oliver with drinks and chocolates...oops...where did he leave Dayana? LOL Patsy, I would love to stay in a haunted anything just for the experience!
Sharon

Mary Ricksen said...

So nice to see you here at Sharon's diggs Dayana. She knows how to throw an exciting party. Oh I hear the sound of Monster Mash coming over the speakers. Oliver can you get one of your friends to dance with me. You know how shy I am about that kind of thing.
Did you see Hidalgo? I love Viggo too!
You are on a publishing journey to be envied, good luck my friend.

Emma Lai said...

Fun interview ladies!

Sharon Donovan said...

Hey, Mary! Get over here girlfriend. Oliver's quite busy with Dayana, but allow me to introduce you to one of the Living Dead over here in this nice dark corner. Don't look now, but skulls are glowing! And the one is grabbing you out on the dance floor. Who knew bones could rattle and shake the house down! Whewww whoooo!

Sharon Donovan said...

Hi Emma! Glad you could drop by. Baby must be napping? Take a load off and have some treats, Oliver's special cuisine. Have a slice of dark devil's food cake.

Jodi said...

Bon soir, Sharon! Now let me guess—Dayana is off cavorting around your "obscurely charming" mansion with Oliver, n'est-ce pas? The little wench! Honestly, though, if there are those of you who haven't read Curse of the Marhime, you are truly missing out on a mesmerizing read. Believe me, I know these things—Dayana and I are both from the dark side of the Garden. Must run, Sharon, party on! If, IF...Ms. Knight returns from her tour, mention I popped in...and tell Oliver 'je l'adore.'

Joelle
Editor, Black Rose
The Wild Rose Press

Becca Simone said...

Sharon, your interviews here are just so much fun. I guess I'd better hurry up and get mine written for my guest slot later this month, eh? Can't wait to *meet* Oliver.

Dayana, I love cemeteries and most things paranormal, too. Although I write straight contemporary. Go figure.

:)Becca

Sharon Donovan said...

Hey, Joelle! Ah, don't run off yet. Stick around and have a Bombay martini! And what do you know! Speaking of the devil--here comes Oliver now, his fangs all nice and sharp. Oliver do bring Joelle a dry Bombay, shaken with two bleu cheese olives! But of course after you see to the guest of honor, her Kuluhah and Creme!
Sharon

Sharon Donovan said...

Hey, Becca! Come join the fun and help us pick some music. Not that we always have a choice, mind you. The organ suddenly grinds out the funeral dirge. Sharon waves her hand, her long crimson nails slick as satin. No worries. It's just one of the spirits that come out to play and play he does!
Sharon

Sharon Donovan said...

Oliver sweeps into the parlour, setting down a platter of dark chocolates, sinfully rich chocolate cupcakes, chocolate and peanut butter mousse with tons of whipped cream and succulent red strawberries with dark melted chocolate dip. His eyes glaze over as he grabs Dayana for a dance. But not before feeding her a double dipped strawberry.
Sharon

M.Flagg said...

Yum...chocolate, double-dipped strawberries and fine libations. How perfect for this Goth bash. Hi Sharon. Hi Dayana. Great interview and what a guest list once again! I loved Dark Shadows. And Angelique's theme still plays in my mind. That was a great composition! Quentin wasn't bad either :) Oh. Hi Oliver (grin with a blush). I enjoyed reading Curse and I'm looking forward to the story continuing.

Have a great night, Ladies... and Oliver :)

Sharon Donovan said...

Hey, Mickey! Oh, yes. Dig into those double dipped treats! Oliver will be happy to bring you a cup of coffee or a martini. Name your poison. Another Dark Shadows fan. Hmmm. I loved it and the Twilight Zone and Night Gallery. There was another one on HBO that they'd show in between movies. It was called the Hitchhiker. Does anyone remember that? Oh Oliver, do bring me some more merlot.

Sharon

Dayana said...

Oh my, Oliver. The tour was so wonderfully decadent and I do mean in more ways then one *I grin sheepishly and whisper into his ear* and you dance like an angel.

You're going to so spoil me! As he presses another chocolate dipped strawberry to my lips.

The music slows and Oliver spins me and clutches me seductively closer to him.

I close my eyes and absorb the rhythm of the dance.

Until...

Sharon Donovan said...

Hey Dayana! Do have a seat and get comfy. You have quite a lot of guests here waiting for your acquaintance. And you must be hungry...ah...after that rather long tour with Oliver. Do dig into the treats he's presented on the coffin table.
Sharon

Dayana said...

Oh yes, thank you, Sharon. Please pass a slice of that dark Devil's food cake.

Emma thanks for dropping in. Sharon is the perfect hostess isn't she and Oliver... Words can't describe:)

Joelle, I'm soooo sorry I missed you. Thank you so much for making an appearance and the kudos regarding my book are very much appreciated. I am so glad you enjoyed the read.

P.L. and Mary, I'm so glad you are still here. Sorry to have kept you waiting. Mary, do get something tasty to eat. There is no shyness allowed in this mansion, isn't that right, Sharon?

Oh and Hywela Lyn, I certainly let you in on the re-release of Dancing on the Edge:)

A crash sounds behind and I jump.

Was that what I thought it was?

Becca, LOL go figure. I think we write what we find most comforting. Adrenalin rushing hauntings and creatures who are both sensual and frightening do it for me.

And Mickey! so nice of you to pop in. I loved Angelique's song as well. Quentin was rather a hot one not that I think of it.

And Sharon, I do remember The Hitchhiker though I'd never seen it. But what about Wolf Lake? Anyone remember that or American Gothic? Someone's at the do' LOL

Sharon Donovan said...

I remember the names but never watched either. Dayana, since you were a fan like myself of Night Gallery, you must remember this one. I have it fixed in my head anyway that it was Night Gallery. The Wax Museum? Do you remember that one? The wax figures all came to life, so surreal. It really left an impression and I thought it was so well crafted and portrayed. In fact, I hint at it in the suspense novel I just sold to Crimson, Her Biggest Fan. Do you remember that one? And there was another episode where a young guy was called to a mansion and when he got there, the table was eloquently set with candles and the guests were all seated at the table, and they were all dead! Did you see that one?
Sharon

Dayana said...

Yes, I remember those episodes. I have one for you. How about the one where the old lady had a green thumb and her garden grew around her in her rocking chair? Or the one where the little boy would listen to the mailman pass by everyday and one day he didn't hear him any longer. It had snowed I think but the setup was so eerie and scarey to me. Night gallery was always so well done. Twilight Zone was big when I was really young and some of the episodes really frightened me, LOL

Sharon Donovan said...

Oh my God, I totally forgot about those two. Oh boy, do I remember being scared out of my wits over both of them. Something about the old music and the old setting was so surreal it just made the flesh crawl! Ohhh that lady with the green thumb was really creepy!
Sharon

Dayana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dayana said...

Okay, one more, Sharon. The Twilight Zone movie. The episode with the guy that is a clean freak. Everything is glass and steel and white. So sterile. And the worst imaginable thing that could ever happen to me happens and I still have nightmares about it. The guy goes to bed one night and roach come from everywhere! Millions and zillions and infiltrate his every orifice. It was the most horrid thing I could ever imagine as I am deathly fearful of the blasted things!

Thank you so much for having me and Oliver you are such a wonderful host. I so enjoyed my night here but the sun is peeking through the breaking dawn and I know Oliver needs to get his beauty sleep, LOL

So...Sharon, until you grace my blog I bid you adieu:) And Oliver you are invited as well. I insist that you be there.

Thank you everyone for coming tonight.

Please don't forget about my Free Read Halloween Contest. For details please visit www.romawolftales.com and click on the "contest" button.

D~

Catherine Bybee said...

I'm soooo late for the party... but then again, it's dark now and exactly what I need to wake. Hello, ladies. Wonderful interview!

Sharon Donovan said...

Dayana, once more, I'd buried that one in the dark recesses. Shudders! I remember feeling as if those wretched things were crawling on me for days! And do you remember the one (not sure which show it was) about the fly that flew into the ear and laid eggs in the brain and the man went insane!
Thank you so very much for being such a delightful Gothic guest. Oliver and I had a wonderful time entertaining you and so look forward to being featured on your awesome blog! I would also like to thank everyone for dropping by to chat with Dayana, Oliver and I! It was wicked fun! Until next time,
Sharon

Sharon Donovan said...

Hi Catherine! Oh, don't worry. There is still plenty of chocolate and plenty of beverages. Have a seat and Oliver will be right over with a piece of Dayana's sinfully rich devil's food cake!
Sharonto

Dayana said...

Dayana stretches and sits upon the edge of her antique cherry wood rice bed hugging one of the tall corner pillars. Another lovely evening is upon us.

Swishing the mosquito net aside she moves to gaze out the window at the cresent moon shining brightly in the dark sky.

Better be off to check out Sharon's next guest before I begin another day or night as it were.

Catherine dropped by after I'd left. So sorry to have missed her. Maybe I'll catch her visiting the next guest.